Robbers Kill Seven Policemen In Rivers

Seven police officers were killed by armed robbers in Rivers State, while 53 robbery and 19 kidnap suspects were fatally wounded, between June and July, this year.

This is contained in an official report by the Rivers State Police Command and made available to newsmen in Port Harcourt last Monday. It stated that armed robbery and kidnapping in the state have increased, saying while only 40 armed robbery and 37 kidnap suspects were arrested in May this year, 61 armed robbery and19 kidnap suspects were recorded in June.

The record also showed that; “in July the figure rose to 121 robbery and 30 kidnap suspects, respectively, while by mid-August police had arrested 48 robbery and 22 kidnap suspects and by the end of the month, the number of armed robbery suspects rose to 279 persons while that of kidnap shot up to 108”.

Furthermore, the police said that 90 AK-47 assault rifles, 34 stolen vehicles, motorbikes, hundreds of live ammunitions, one laptop and 22 assorted GSM handsets were recovered from the suspects during the period under review.

The state Commissioner of Police, Mr Suleiman Abba, had said that the force had resolved to fight crime to ‘finish’ in the state.

It will be recalled that the state’s Commissioner for Information and Communications, Mrs Ibim Semenitari had in an interview with The Tide editors last week, explained that the Federal and Rivers State governments would soon buy two helicopters for improved security surveillance.

With such facilities she hoped, the police will be better equipped to check crime in the state.

Patterson Koko